Enrollment Changes and Return to Title IV (R2T4) for Federal Student Aid
On this page:
- Establish Attendance
- Federal Student Aid
- Return of Title IV Funds Policy
- State of Ohio Aid
- Wright State University Aid
- External Scholarships
- Alternative Loans
The majority of financial aid awards have enrollment status requirements you must meet and observe to be eligible to receive financial aid.
Establish Attendance for Federal (Title IV) State Aid Eligibility
To establish eligibility for federal and state aid, you must establish attendance and/or complete an academically related activity for each course in which you are enrolled. If you do not establish attendance, you are not eligible for federal or state financial aid for the course. You are responsible for establishing attendance or completing an academically related activity for each class, each semester, to be eligible for Federal Title IV financial assistance. While, per Wright Way Policy 3430.2, instructors can request you to be removed from their class, it is your responsibility to drop courses you do not plan to attend. When you register for a course, you are accepting financial responsibility to pay tuition, so be mindful of the academic calendar and the last day to drop/withdraw and receive 100 percent tuition refunds.
The Office of Financial Aid will consider you to have established eligibility in a course if one of the following final grades is earned: A, B, C, D, F, M, P, U, or I. The Office of Financial Aid will consider you NOT to have established eligibility in a course if you receive an 'NR' or 'NU' grade.
For in-person or hybrid (online and in-person) courses, you must attend at least one in-person class or complete an academically related activity as described below.
For online courses, logging into an online class is not sufficient, by itself, to demonstrate attendance/participation. Examples of an academically related activity in an online class include (but are not limited to):
- Submission of an academic assignment
- Submission of an exam or assessment
- Documented participation in an interactive tutorial or computer-assisted instruction
- A posting showing participation in an online study group assigned by the instructor
- A posting in a discussion forum showing participation in an online discussion about academic matters
- An email showing you initiated contact with a faculty member to ask a question about the academic subject studied in the course
What does not constitute participation?
- Living in institutional housing
- Participating in the school’s meal plan
- Participating in a student-organized study group
- Logging into an online class without active participation
- Participating in academic counseling or advising
Federal Student Aid
Wright State University is required by Federal Law (34 C.F.R 668.21 (c)) to review the enrollment activity of its Federal-aid recipients (Title IV Aid). A student is considered to be a Title IV financial aid recipient if they have received any of the following federal awards:
- Federal Pell Grant
- Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
- Federal Direct Loans
- Federal PLUS loans (parent and graduate PLUS loans)
Drop Policy
A drop occurs when you officially withdraw from a class while you're still enrolled and currently attending other classes in the payment period (semester) or stop attending at any point prior to completing the payment period (semester) and provide written confirmation that you will attend a course that begins later in the same payment period (semester). You can officially drop a class either in person at Enrollment Services or online via WINGS Express until designated dates for a given term. Federal student aid is subject to change when you officially drop a class and receive a 100 percent refund of tuition and fees. The Office of Financial Aid will return federal student loan funds that have been disbursed to you for a given term if you drop to less than half-time enrollment prior to the start of the term.
Important things to consider when dropping a course:
- Dropping a class often results in a reduction of your financial aid awards, which in turn creates a balance owed to Wright State. It is highly recommended you contact Enrollment Services to determine how the drop may affect your financial aid awards.
- Dropping a class can impact your ability to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements for federal student aid.
- You must be enrolled at least half-time to maintain your in-school deferment for federal loans.
Depending on when you drop a class, you may be eligible for a refund of tuition and fees. For information on Wright State's refund policy for tuition and fees, see Official University Refund Policy.
Return of Title IV Funds Policy
Wright State is required by Federal Law (34 C.F.R 668.21 (c)) to review the enrollment activity of its Federal-aid recipients (Title IV Aid). You are considered to be a Title IV financial aid recipient if you have received any of the following funds: Federal Pell Grant, Federal Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Direct Loans, and Federal PLUS loans (parent and graduate PLUS loans). If you have a valid FAFSA on file at the time you withdraw and you have not yet received these funds and are otherwise eligible, you may be considered for a late disbursement of federal financial aid.
You are considered to have withdrawn if you do not complete all the days in the payment period (semester) you were scheduled to complete.
Students who are enrolled in modular courses and then withdraw will not be considered withdrawn for Return of Title IV purposes if one of the following conditions are met:
- Successfully complete (with a grade of an A, B, C, D, or P) modular coursework equal to or greater than half-time enrollment (6 credit hours for undergraduate students and 3 credit hours for graduate students);
- Successfully complete (with a grade of an A, B, C, D, or P) one module or a combination of modules that equals 49 percent or more of the number of days in the student’s payment period; or
- Successfully complete a module (with a grade of an A, B, C, D, or P) and all requirements for graduation from your program before completing the days or hours in the period that you were scheduled to complete.
For an example of these exceptions, please see examples 3–5 below.
Types of Withdrawals
There are two types of withdrawals: Official and Unofficial. You are considered to have officially withdrawn when you drop all courses during the payment period (semester) or stop attending at any point prior to completing the payment period (semester) and do not provide written confirmation that you will attend another course that begins later in the same payment period (semester). You can officially withdraw from a class either in person at Enrollment Services or online via WINGS until designated dates for a given term. You are considered to have unofficially withdrawn when you either stop attending a class without officially withdrawing from the class or you don't earn a grade for the class. A faculty member identifies a student who has unofficially withdrawn from a class by assigning the student an X (Unofficial Withdrawal) grade at the end of the term on the student's grade report.
Return of Title IV Calculation and Earned Vs. Unearned Aid
Title IV federal student aid recipients who establish attendance and then officially or unofficially withdraw are subject to the U.S. Department of Education's Federal Return of Title IV Funds calculation. Based on your date of withdrawal, this calculation determines the amount of federal student aid you've "earned" and may keep versus the amount of aid that is considered "unearned" and must be returned to the federal student aid programs. The percentage of aid you've earned is calculated by dividing number of days completed by the number of days in the payment period. For example, if you withdraw after attending 11 calendar days and there are 110 days in the payment period, you have earned 10 percent of your federal student aid (11 days/ 110 days = 10 percent).
The Federal Return of Title IV Funds calculation includes the following Title IV grant and loan funds if they were disbursed or could have been disbursed for the term the calculation is being performed. Title IV funds received during the applicable term will be returned in the following order:
- Unsubsidized Direct Loans
- Subsidized Direct Loans
- Direct PLUS Loans
- Federal Pell Grant for which a return is required
- Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant for which a return is required
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) for which a return of funds is required
Wright State will return both the institutional and student-required return of Title IV aid to the Department of Education. This often results in you, the student, owing a balance to Wright State. If a credit balance does exist after the Return of Title IV calculation is complete, a refund check will be issued within 14 days.
If your date of withdrawal is after 60 percent of the term has passed, you are considered to have earned 100 percent of your federal student aid. If you unofficially withdraw (receive all X and/or N grades at the end of the term on your grade report), the Return of Title IV Funds policy requires Wright State to use the midpoint (50 percent) of the term as your date of withdrawal.
Post Withdrawal Disbursement
In some cases, the amount of aid disbursed to you is less than the amount of aid “earned," and you are eligible to receive a post-withdrawal disbursement of earned aid that was not received. If the earned aid is a grant fund, the aid will be automatically disbursed to you within 45 days of the date the school determined you withdrew. If the earned aid is a loan fund, you will receive a letter within 30 days it was determined you withdrew. If a credit balance exists as a result of the post-withdrawal disbursement, a refund will be issued within 14 days.
Date of Determination of Withdrawal
The Federal Return of Title IV Funds calculation must be complete and all unearned aid returned to the U.S. Department of Education within 45 days of the date it has been determined you have withdrawn. The date of determination that you withdrew varies depending on the type of withdrawal. If you officially withdraw, the date of determination would be the date you began the official withdrawal process or the date you notified Enrollment Services of your intent to withdraw, whichever is later. If you unofficially withdraw, the date of determination of withdrawal would be the last day of the term.
Determining the Date of Withdrawal
To determine the percentage of aid earned, the university must determine the effective date of withdraw which is the earliest date of the following:
- Date of official notification either verbally or written to Enrollment Services,
- The date of withdraw on the web, or
- If provided, the last date of participation in an academic-related activity.
Remember, if you unofficially withdraw and the university is not aware of the last date of academic participation, the mid-point (50 percent) of the term will be used as the date of withdraw.
Return of Title IV for Federal Student Aid Examples:
Example #1: You are a Title IV federal student aid recipient enrolled in the Fall Semester. There are 106 days in the payment period (fall semester). You officially withdraw online after attending 15 days in the payment period (Fall Semester), therefore you have earned 14 percent of your federal student aid (15 days/ 106 days = 14 percent). This means 86 percent of the aid is unearned. Returning unearned funds to the federal student aid programs often results in you, the student, owing a balance to Wright State.
Example #2: You are a Title IV federal student aid recipient enrolled in the Fall Semester. There are 106 days in the payment period (Fall Semester). You stop attending classes and fail to notify the university. Your professors assign all 'X' grades for the semester; therefore, you are considered to have unofficially withdrawn from the university. Since the university does not have a last day of academic-related activity, the midpoint of the term is used and you have earned 50 percent of your federal student aid. This means 50 percent of the aid you received for Fall Semester is unearned. Returning unearned funds to the federal student aid programs often results in you, the student, owing a balance to Wright State.
The following examples are for modular courses. Modular courses are those within the semester but not the entire length of the semester. For example, A Term and B Term are modules within the semester.
Example #3: You're an undergraduate Title IV federal student aid recipient enrolled in modular courses during the Summer Semester. You’re enrolled for 3 credit hours in A Term and 3 credit hours in B Term. There are 81 days in the payment period (Summer Semester). Your A Term equals 48 percent of your total payment period. You finish the A Term class and earn a passing grade. However, after B Term begins, you officially withdraw from your B Term class. Even though you successfully completed your A Term class, because you did not successfully complete A Term as half-time or successfully complete one module that is equal to 49 percent of the payment period, you are now considered to have withdrawn from the full Summer Semester. Your federal student aid is now subject to the Federal Return of Title IV Funds calculation.
Example #4: You're an undergraduate Title IV federal student aid recipient enrolled in five modular courses totaling 15 credit hours for Fall Semester (9 credit hours are A term and 6 credit hours are B term). There are 100 days in the payment period (Fall Semester). A term equals 48 percent of your total payment period. You finish the A term classes earning two C’s for 6 credit hours and an F for the other 3 credit hours. After B term begins, you officially withdraw from both of your B term classes after attending. Even though your A term does not equal at least 49 percent of your payment period, because you successfully completed A term at half-time (your two C grades) you are not considered withdrawn, however, because you dropped your B term classes during the 100 percent refund period. Your Title IV Federal aid may be reduced to reflect your new enrollment and tuition charges and you have a balance owed to Wright State.
Example #5: You’re a graduate Title IV federal student aid recipient enrolled in two modular courses totaling 6 credit hours for Spring Semester (3 credit hours are A term and 3 credit hours are B term). There are 102 days in the payment period (Spring Semester). A term equals 48 percent of your total payment period. You finish the A term classes earning an F. After B term starts, you officially withdraw from your B term class after attending. Even though you were enrolled half-time for A term (3 credit hours is half-time as a graduate student), because you did not successfully complete your A term class, you are now considered to have withdrawn from the full Spring Semester term. Your federal student aid is now subject to the Federal Return of Title IV Funds calculation. Between A term and B term you attended 53 days in the payment period (Spring Semester). Therefore, you have earned 55 percent of your federal student aid (56 days/102 days = 55 percent). This means 45 percent of the aid you received for Spring Semester is unearned. Returning unearned funds to the federal student aid programs often results in you, the student, owing a balance to Wright State.
State of Ohio Aid
Students must establish attendance and/or complete an academic activity for each course in which they are enrolled each term to establish and maintain eligibility for state financial aid. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate attendance and/or complete an academic related-action for each class, each semester to be eligible for state financial assistance.
Policies and procedures for the handling of State of Ohio scholarships, grants, and loans when a student drops or withdraws are established by the Ohio Department of Education. Policies vary depending on the type of aid. Typically students must be enrolled full-time to receive State of Ohio grants and scholarships, but not always. Contact Enrollment Services for more information.
Wright State University Aid
Students must initiate attendance and/or complete an academic-related action for each course in which they are enrolled each term to establish and maintain eligibility for Institutional aid. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate attendance and/or complete an academic related-action for each class, each semester to be eligible for Institutional financial assistance.
Policies and procedures for the handling of Wright State funds when a student drops or withdraws vary depending upon the type of aid.
Undergraduate Grants/Scholarships
- Academic Scholarships—Contact Enrollment Services.
- Athletic Grants—Contact your head coach or the Athletics Department.
- Lake Campus Scholarships—Contact Lake Campus Student Services.
- Other Scholarships—Contact Enrollment Services.
- Wright State University Grants—Contact Enrollment Services.
Employment/Federal Work Study—Contact Career Services.
Campus-Based Loans—Contact Enrollment Services.
Graduate Assistantships, Tuition Scholarships, Fellowships and Stipends—Contact the Graduate School.
Boonshoft School of Medicine Scholarships and Fellowships—Contact the Boonshoft School of Medicine.
School of Professional Psychology Scholarships and Fellowships—Contact the School of Professional Psychology.
Tuition Remission—Contact the Office of the Bursar.
External Scholarships
Policies and procedures for the handling of external scholarship monies when a student or withdraws are determined by the external scholarship donor. Always contact your donor first if you have any questions.
Alternative Loans
Pay close attention to the terms and conditions of your alternative loan. Policies and procedures regarding the handling of loan funds when a student drops or withdraws are established by the lender. Typically students must be registered at least half-time to be eligible for loan funds, but not always. Contact Enrollment Services for more information.
